Method of making a multi-level pile fabric



May 5, 1959 H.F. NowlcKl I 2,884,680

METHOD oF MAKING A MULTI-LEVEL PILE FABRIC Filed Feb. 8. 1957 HENRY F. NOWICKI United States.. Patent() "ice 4 NIETHOD OF MAKING A MULTI-LEVEL PILE FABRIC Henry F. Nowicki, Norristown, Pa., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 8, 1957, Serial No. 639,042

'5 Claims. (Cl. 28-72) This invention relates to a method for producing a pile fabric and more particularly to a tufted pile oor covering having both cut and uncut face pile and to the method of producing it.

The ability to provide pleasing and saleable fabrics on a tufting machine presents substantially different problems and considerations than is the case with the heretofore more conventional woven oor coverings. For example, the ability to provide cut and uncut pile surface in the same fabric on a loom is relatively simple and well known' since it is merely a question of the judicious selection of round and cutting pile wires. In a tufting machine, however, this problem is an entirely dierent matter because the loopers for a cut pile fabric face in one direction whereas the loopers for an uncut fabric face in the opposite direction and there is no means for selectively operating such loopers even if they were to be combined.

The present invention, therefore, contemplates a method for providing a tufted floor covering in which the areas of cut and uncut pile can be controlled by the designer to provide the desired texture or pattern effect.

The invention, therefore, has for a primary object the provision of a method for fabricating a tufted pile fabric in which the visible areas of cut and uncut pile are controlled in accordance with a pattern mechanism.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which Fig. 1 is a warpwise sectional view of a fabric constructed 4in accordance with the present invention immediately after leaving the tufting machine,

Fig. 2 is a view of the fabric of Fig. l after the lirst step in the method has been performed, and

Fig. 3 is a view showing the finished fabric of Figs. 1 and 2.

The invention comprises essentially the provision of a.`

series of high loops formed in rows of stitches running intermittently across the fabric. These constant height high loops are formed in any well known manner; for example, by using a pattern attachment comprising a series of feed rollers. One set of these rol-1ers is run at constant speed at all times and the feed is so ladjusted that the yarns controlled thereby will be tufted by the needles through which they are threaded to provide a relatively high series of loops as compared to the yarns controlled by the rollers capable ofbeing operated at variable speed. The variable speed rollers are actuated through the me dium of a patterning device to change the relative speed, of the rollers lthereby to provide areas of high and W loops as is well known in the art and which forms no part of the present invention.

By utilizing a high twist yarn for the constant height.l high tufted areas, which yarn may desirably be rayon,l a rayon-wool blend, or any other blend of natural and synthetic fibers and which desirably uses `a pre-set backtwist, it is possible to shear the tips of these high loops and then subject the fabric to a treatment which will per-v mit the high twisted loops to relax and thus contract im height `so that the ultimate height of the cut pile area will.

'Patentediv Muy 1959 be higherr than thel low o'ri lowest loop" pile 'area but lower than vthe high or highest loop pile area'.y "Since: the high and low loops are" controlled` by.A the patterntatta'chment, itv be' apparent"that where rtherevarev high' uncut loops remaining after the' shearing operation, this area gives the appearance of being uncut because "the high loops conceal the lower cut tufts. f Conversely, in? areas'-wl.'i`ere the cut tufts are higher rthan theloopsgftheffabricfwill have the `appearance vof being cut because the higher cuttufts conceal' the lower loops iri'uaf area'. In order to' acl-.tieve this effect, it will be understood that the yarn for the constant height high loops is desirably threaded through alternate needles of the tufting machine `or the yarn for the high loops to be sheared may be threaded through the same needles as the pattern controlled yarn. It is important, however, that the sheared and unsheared rows of stitches be sufficiently intermingled with each other so that the lower one of the two in any given area is substantially concealed by the higher.

Referring now to Fig. l, the row of high loops 5, 5 is controlled by a constant feed relatively low tension device to provide maximum height loops which are higher than the highest pattern controlled loops 6, 6 as well as the lowest pattern controlled loops 7, 7 preferably in an adjacent row of stitches. After the tufting operation is complete the fabric is sheared as shown in Fig. 2 so that the high loops 5, 5 now become high tufts 5a, 5a. As previously noted, the yarn for the tufts 5a, 5a is highly twisted or backtwisted so that even after shearing there will be a tendency for these tufts to untwist and, therefore, become reduced in height. This condition in practice immediately follows the shearing such as shown in Fig. 2 and would provide a relatively lower total height for the cut tufts. To insure that the cut tufts contract to the desired extent, it is preferred to subject the fabric to a steaming or relaxing treatment which in effect still further lowers the height of these tufts to a point substantially as shown in Fig. 3 in which the cut pile surface is now below the high loops 6, 6 and will, therefore, be substantially masked or concealed in those areas. However, where the pattern controlled yarns are given increased tension in the pattern attachment so that the low loops 7, 7 occur, these loops will nevertheless be masked or substantially concealed by the relaxed tufts 5b, 5b in the same or adjacent rows of stitches.

It will -thus be understood that I have provided a novel method for producing a tufted pile fabric in which there is a combined cut and uncut pile surfa-ce and also in which the relative areas giving a cut appearance can be controlled at the will of the `designer with regard to the area having an uncut appearance. The fabric is inexpensive to manufacture and no additional apparatus on the tufting machine is required.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. The method of producing a cut and uncut pile fabric comprising the steps of tufting a plurality of rows of high loops, simultaneously tufting a plurality of rows of closely adjacent loops, said second rows of loops being of at least two different lower heights than the first rows, shearing all of the tips of the high loops simultaneously across the fabric and progressively along the fabric to form cut pile tufts, and treating the sheared tufts with steam to relax and contract said tufts to a height lower than the high loops in the second rows.

2. 'llhe method of claim l in which the yarns in the first series of rows have a high twist yarn.

3. The method of claim 2 in which the yarns have a high backtwist.

4. The method of claim 3 including the step of steaming the fabric after shearing.

5. The method of producing a cut and uncut pile fabric of parallel rows of closelyy .adjacent Iuncut stitches said second parallel rows of uncut stitches being of at least two 'di'erent lower 'heights thantherrst parallel rows, shear- .ing substantially all 'the tipsoftheloops' in therst parallel rows of stitches, andtreatng the. sheared tufts'to krelax and contract said tufts. to a height lower-than the 'highA loops the second parallel rows. j

y A lReferences Cited in the le of this patent I V STATES PATENTS 2,350,399 'jv Case t oet, 17, 1944 Backhus Oct. l1, 1949 Blumeld May 23, 1950 Mersereau etal. Dec. 15, 1953 Lacey Dec. 7, 1954 Rice Oct. 16, 1956 Ashcroft June 25, 1957 

